Massachusetts
Massachusetts schools need a balanced curriculum on the Mideast – The Boston Globe
The MTA was right that teachers need help teaching such an emotional, confusing topic. But the guidance the union came up with shows that the MTA itself is too biased to be trusted with that job.
Given how fraught the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has become, the state should instead take the lead in providing a balanced and detailed curriculum for instructors to use if they teach about either the immediate conflict, now in uneasy ceasefire, or the longer history of the tensions.
It would be an unusual step for the state. But this is an unusual subject. And without a state curriculum to help schools, partisan sources may keep trying to fill the void.
The most recent worries about MTA bias came after the union posted on the members-only section of its website links to posters, films, books, and articles that were disproportionately critical of Israel; the posters in particular portrayed the long-time conflict in a one-sided way, some even trafficking in antisemitic themes.
The MTA initially portrayed the controversial material as nothing more than resources to help MTA members develop an appreciation of different perspectives on the conflict.
Massachusetts Educators Against Antisemitism, a group of concerned MTA members, had persistently urged the union leadership to take down the web page. But at a Feb. 8 meeting, despite being shown some of the antisemitic or otherwise offensive images, the MTA board of directors voted overwhelmingly against doing so, according to attendees.
It was not until mid-February — after a Feb. 10 grilling of the MTA president, Max Page, by the Special Commission on Combatting Antisemitism in the Commonwealth — that the MTA announced it would remove “any materials that do not further the cause of promoting understanding,” asserting in that Feb. 19 statement that “MTA members would never want to have antisemitic materials on the MTA website.”
At the hearing, commission cochair Simon Cataldo, a Democratic state representative from Concord, put Page on the hot seat, highlighting numerous examples of content that had triggered concerns among Jewish MTA members and asking for his assessment of that content.
One was a poster of a large hand rising from a group of kaffiyeh-clad protestors to grab the tongue of a snake, with the words “unity in confronting zionism.”
Another poster proclaimed, “Zionists, [expletive]-off, free Palestine.”
A third featured a kaffiyah-wearing fighter with an assault rifle and proclaimed, “What was taken by force can only be returned by force.”
Yet another presented dollar bills folded into a star of David.
Cataldo also spotlighted “Handala’s Return: A Children’s Story and Workbook,” an early-elementary-grades-level book about a Palestinian youth that includes sentences like this: “Children like me keep having their homes taken by the Zionist bullies.”
The MTA has now purged the links to the sites containing those posters. But Jewish MTA members say more needs to be done, noting that the union’s website still has the curricular material portraying Zionists as home-stealing bullies and remains very unbalanced. A link to “Handala’s Return” was still up as of last week.
“While Max Page claims that the MTA is reviewing the curricula-resources web page, there is no clear structure or system in place for how this review is being conducted, who is responsible for conducting it, and what criteria is being used,” says MTA member Jany Finkielsztein, also a member of MEAA. “Given the MTA’s track record over the last year and a half, it is really difficult to trust that the final result will be balanced.”
Although Page can certainly be faulted for having been slow to respond, the larger controversy appears to reflect an ideological strand of thought within the union. Some MTA members and activists clearly view the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of the postcolonial or settler-colonialism frame popular with the academic left. Its adherents tend to discount the long history of Jews in the Mideast and glide over the fact that the 1947 United Nations action that helped establish Israel also envisioned a sovereign Arab state, only to have that plan rejected by the Arab world.
That pro-Palestinian slant is clearly reflected in the website content, which the MTA’s division of training and professional learning assembled pursuant to a motion the MTA executive board approved in December of 2023.
That outlook is also reflected in a letter an internal MTA group called MTA Rank and File for Palestine sent to presidents of MTA locals in support of the controversial content.
“As MTA members, we should be proud that our union is providing resources that finally clarify the historical record,” the group wrote. “Seeking a balance in perspective on this situation is a flawed premise…. There is no balance to 76 years of ethnic cleansing, occupation, apartheid, and genocide.”
MTA Rank and File for Palestine was founded by former MTA president Merrie Najimy, Page’s predecessor, who views many things through the prism of racism. Najimy spoke at the MTA board meeting in opposition to altering the web page, according to several attendees.
At the recent commission hearing, Najimy said that comments she had heard during the hearing and considered racist had agitated her to such a degree that her smart watch had alerted her that her heart rate was elevated.
“That is a physical manifestation of racism,” she declared. A participant in Gaza-related protests, Najimy insisted that one could be part of a rally chanting “We don’t want no Zionists here” and still teach objectively in the classroom about the conflict.
“People can be activists on the street … and be in a different space being an educator,” she said.
Parents and the general public can perhaps be forgiven for looking skeptically on that contention. No one should want their kids subjected to a biased or unbalanced account of the complex history and controversies of this, or for that matter, any, region.
Most teachers, we believe, want to teach the subject with the nuance and sensitivity it deserves but may not have the training or expertise to do so. And for that reason, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education should contract with a well-regarded curriculum-development firm to produce a balanced lesson plan on the situation in the Middle East and the centuries of conflict that preceded it.
DESE’s high school world history framework on the subject consists of eight bullet points listing the general concepts that should be taught, from the Zionist movement through the United Nation’s 1947 vote to create two independent countries, to the region’s wars, to the more recent attempts at a two-state solution. But though useful as a general guide, it stops well short of specifying the events or facts that should be taught. It is not a curriculum.
A state-provided curriculum would aim to be a balanced resource for the state’s teachers. Like everything else about the Middle East, it would be highly scrutinized and undoubtedly imperfect. Still, it would help reassure parents that their children were receiving as balanced an overview as possible of this complex conflict. And its existence would provide even more reason for the MTA to bring to a close its ill-advised attempt at providing content for the state’s teachers.
Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us @GlobeOpinion.
A Greenfield, Massachusetts family of four were among the five killed when a bus plowed into vehicles on a Virginia highway early Friday morning. A 25-year-old woman from Worcester was also killed in the crash.
It comes as investigators are trying to piece together what happened in the collision that injured dozens more.
There is profound sorrow in the Greenfield community. Heartbroken family members say Dmitri Doncev, 45, his wife Ecterina, 44, their 13-year-old daughter Emily and 7-year-old son Mark all died after a charter bus slammed into their car and others on I-95. The Worcester woman who was killed was in another SUV struck by the bus.
They Doncev family were devoted members of a Russian Baptist Church who were heading to a wedding in South Carolina.
The heartbroken family sent WBZ a statement saying, “Today, words cannot adequately express the pain and sorrow felt by their family, friends, church community, coworkers, classmates, and all who had the privilege of knowing them. Their absence leaves a void that can never be filled, but their memories, their love, and the countless lives they touched will remain forever in our hearts.”
“Though their time with us was far too short, the legacy of kindness, faith, perseverance, and love that they leave behind will continue to inspire all who knew them,” the statement said.
Providence Christian Academy said the children attended the school saying in a statement, “The Doncev family was a cherished part of our school community, and their loss is being felt deeply by our students, families, faculty, and staff.”
Greenfield Mayor Greenfield Mayor Virginia DeSorgher also said in a statement:
“To the families, friends, and neighbors of those we lost: there are no words that can fully ease the weight of this sudden and unimaginable grief. Please know that you are not walking through this dark time alone. The Greenfield community stands with you, mourning alongside you, and we extend our absolute deepest condolences and prayers.”
Investigators say the bus did not slow down in a work zone, hitting several cars in front of it. Passengers on the bus woke up to chaos.
“It was horrible,” said bus passenger Wayne Tobin. “It was just like blood everywhere; it was people holding their head. Their heads were bleeding.”
In all, about 44 people were rushed to area hospitals.
State police identified the bus driver as 48-year-old Jing Dong. He could be facing charges in the crash.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X that Dong was an American citizen originally from China who got his commercial driver’s license two years ago in New York.
A bus crashed into vehicles slowing for a work zone on Interstate 95 in Virginia early Friday, killing five people and injuring dozens, including the driver, authorities said.
The crash happened at about 2:35 a.m. on southbound I-95 in Stafford County, near Quantico. All five of the people who died were in vehicles hit by the bus, and 44 people were taken to hospitals, including three in critical condition, police said.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that traffic was slowing southbound for an upcoming work zone,” state police said in a news release. “A bus failed to slow for traffic and struck six vehicles.”
Police said there were “approximately” 34 passengers on the bus.
“We’ve got patients in multiple hospitals. We’ve got the driver at a hospital here,” said Peyton Vogel, a Federal Transit Administration spokesperson who was on the scene. “I’ve got to say, this is one of the most tragic things I’ve ever seen. Absolutely tragic.”
Four of the fatalities were in one car, which caught fire. State police said the victims were a 45-year-old male, a 44-year-old female, a 13-year-old female and a 7-year-old male, all from Greenfield, Massachusetts. The fifth victim, a 25-year-old female from Worcester, Massachusetts, was in an SUV that was struck by the bus.
Virginia State Police Virginia State Police The aftermath of a deadly bus crash on I-95 in Virginia’s Stafford County on Friday, May 29, 2026.
Reaction to the deadly crash in Massachusetts
The mayor of Greenfield, Virginia Desorgher, issued a statement on the deaths of four city residents in the crash.
Our entire community is shocked and profoundly heartbroken by the tragic news coming out of Virginia. Early this morning, a horrific crash took the lives of five people, and we have received the painful confirmation that four of those individuals were residents of Greenfield.
To the families, friends, and neighbors of those we lost: there are no words that can fully ease the weight of this sudden and unimaginable grief. Please know that you are not walking through this dark time alone. The Greenfield community stands with you, mourning alongside you, and we extend our absolute deepest condolences and prayers.
We are also holding the dozens of others who were injured in this crash in our thoughts, wishing them a full and swift recovery.
The City of Greenfield is fully committed to supporting those affected by this horrible loss. In the coming days and weeks, we will work to ensure that the grieving families have access to the resources, care, and comfort they need. I ask all Greenfield residents to wrap your arms around our neighbors with the compassion, kindness, and unity that defines our community.”
Update on investigation in Virginia
State police identified the bus driver as Jing S. Dong, 48, of Staten Island, New York. Charges are pending, authorities said.
Mary Washington Healthcare said it received 19 patients from the crash. It posted online that seven of the patients were taken to its trauma center in Fredericksburg, where four were being discharged and three remained in treatment — one in serious condition and two in critical condition. Twelve were taken to its hospital in Stafford, where they were later discharged in good condition.
The National Transportation Safety Board posted online that it was sending a “go-team” to conduct a safety investigation into the crash and that it would have a spokesperson at the scene.
The southbound lanes had reopened by noon, but traffic was still backed up for a couple of miles, according to a state transportation advisory.
Bus company had satisfactory record
The bus was operated by E&P Travel Inc., based in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. A compliance snapshot from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration showed only one injury accident involving the company’s vehicles in the previous two years and listed its safety rating as “satisfactory.”
The company was incorporated Nov. 24, 2023, by Shuo Liu, according to records from the North Carolina Secretary of State’s office. Liu is also listed as the registered agent. The FMCSA site said the company operated four vehicles and had 11 drivers.
While it is too soon to say what caused Friday’s crash, federal authorities have been grappling with interstate passenger bus safety issues for decades.
Following a series of passenger bus crashes in 2008 that killed 41 people, the U.S. Department of Transportation published a Motorcoach Safety Action Plan.
The NTSB investigated 16 fatal motorcoach crashes between June 1998 and January 2008, finding that driver-related problems such as fatigue, medical condition and inattention accounted for 56 percent of the accidents. The agency said driver-related problems were responsible for 60 percent of the fatalities in those crashes.
Among the actions recommended were creation of a pre-employment driver history screening program and a national drug- and alcohol-testing database “to enable motorcoach operators to determine if drivers have a history of violating DOT alcohol or drug rules.”
We’re still on the good side of the forecast today. We’ll see a good supply of sun to start, then the clouds will increase and a few showers will sink down from the north in the afternoon. We still manage to make it near 70. (Yay.)
Tomorrow’s high temperatures, however, comes after midnight tonight — before falling toward Saturday morning. If you think that’s confusing, try explaining the snow that’ll be flying in the higher elevations across New England (with solid accumulation above 4k feet).
Yes, the weather is upside down for late May.
We can blame an intense, compact upper-level pool of cold air that broke loose from a larger pool near the Arctic Circle days ago.
The pattern across North America has dropped it in our laps for a day, with cold, rainy, windy consequences.
Rain, wind and… snow?
This will be a sneaky storm. Early on, there might even be a calm, bright sky (very) early Saturday morning. Then the clouds move in and the wind intensifies from the northeast. Gust will briefly peak at 50+ along the coast (40+ inland).
Rain will mix with snow in northern New England, and perhaps in the highest elevations of southern New Hampshire and central Massachusetts.
This also depends on the intensity of the precipitation. Heavier bursts of rain can drag down colder air aloft, helping the snowflakes make it from cloud base to your home place (if you live above 1k feet).
Ironically, we’re not expecting a deluge from this storm. Most spots keep near a half inch, with higher amounts near an inch in northeast Mass./southern NH.
And then just like that, it’s over. The storm pulls away Saturday evening, the skies clear and we’re back to sun Sunday. Highs recover to near 70 with the slightest chance for a shower late day.
Better chances – and cooler temps – come both Monday and Tuesday.
Will summer ever take hold? We know from past years that June can really struggle. It appears that the start of the month may not live up to expectations. Although we are at least climbing back to the 80s late next week.
Have a good weekend.
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